Castillo Douglas, also known as Castillo Ortega, is a
castle-like house in central Aguascalientes, Mexico.
The project was executed by the master Federico E. Mariscal, renowned
architect of the time, and the construction works were carried out by
Refugio Reyes. ,
it was built for Edmundo Ortega Douglas, whose maternal grandfather,
John Douglas (1849–1918), had emigrated to Mexico from Scotland. The
house is notable for having the features of a medieval castle, including
a moat, a drawbridge, battlements, turrets, and a stained glass window,
made in Vienna.
John Douglas, who moved to Mexico at the end of the 19th century
to Aguascalientes founded the La Perla flour factory and the tram system
, allowing him to establish a farm: Chalet Douglas . In 1887, his
daughter Adela Douglas married José Guadalupe Ortega y Romo de Vivár, with whom she had
a son: Edmundo Ortega Douglas (Died 1970).
Edmundo, feeling a great admiration for his grandfather John, changed
the name of this famous farm to Castillo Douglas. And it was here that
he ordered the construction in 1923 of this palatial construction ,
whose emblem is Amore ne vanitate , that is to say: Love, not vanity.
The reason: this castle ordered him to build a test of love for his
beloved, Carmen Llaguno Cansino.
" Amore ne vanitate " (Love, not vanity), is the emblem that can be seen
at the entrance of the castle, which expresses the main reason why
Edmundo Ortega Douglas had this fort built in 1923, as proof of his love
for Carmen Llaguno Cansino. In addition to fulfilling his desire to live
in a Scottish medieval castle, as his ancestors had done previously, his
family descends from James Douglas, who participated in the struggle for
Scottish independence. The initials of Edmundo Ortega and Carmen Llaguno
are also carved in stone on the entrance door.
The couple lived in the castle until his death: Carmen died in November
1967 and Edmundo in February 1969. After the death of Edmundo, one of
his sons established a mechanical workshop; then the castle was left
unoccupied after 1970. In 1997 it was restored as a restaurant bar,
but soon became inactive. The building remained held by the descendants
of Edmundo Ortega and Carmen Llaguno, until it was sold in 2015.
Edmundo's brother, Luis
was Municipal President of the local City Council.
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